Support grows for plastic bag ban in Watertown

Thursday

Jul 31, 2014 at 9:33 AMJul 31, 2014 at 9:44 AM

By Angie DeWittwatertown@wickedlocal.com

Following in the footsteps of Somerville and Cambridge, Watertown is mulling the idea of banning single-use plastic bags.Rethink Plastic, a citizen-formed group dedicated to reducing pollution from single-use items such as bags, bottles and Styrofoam food containers, held a meeting at the Coolidge School Tuesday evening to discuss Watertown’s environmental future.The group was formed after a screening of the film "Bag It.""The goal of the evening is to really start the conversation," said Rethink Plastic member Janet Buck.Over 90 percent of plastic bags end up in landfills and can take up to 1,000 years to degrade, with roughly 10 percent of plastic bags being recycled, according to the presentation.Plastic bags can also clog storm drains, "as you all might have seen during Monday’s flood," said Buck.The group hopes that at the very least, stores will start using biodegradable bags, which are made from plants, rather than plastic bags made from fossil fuels such as petroleum or natural gas.A good place to start would be having stores begin to offer "paper or plastic?" to customers, said Councilor Susan Falkoff.The goal is to have residents begin using reusable shopping bags. Rethink Plastic is holding a workshop Thursday, Aug. 14, 2-6 p.m. at the Arsenal on the Charles to help residents create bags out of T-shirts.Concerns and suggestionsSome small businesses feel it may take a while to get residents used to remembering to bring their own bags, and suggested hanging reminder signs in store windows, according to the presentation."How many of you are currently using reusable bags," Joan Blaustein of Rethink Plastic asked the crowd. She was answered with an overwhelming majority of the attendees raising their hands.Resident Russ Arico stated that he uses plastic shopping bags for multiple purposes in his home, and wonders what he will do if those bags are suddenly banned.Many residents’ main concern Tuesday night was how dog owners would pick up after their dogs if single-use plastic bags were banned.Carla Bates of Rethink Plastic suggested residents donate their newspaper bags to dog owners or the dog park to help address that issue.Resident Barbara Ruskin proposed residents use paper bags when cleaning up after their dogs, or "if you’re brave," newspapers.Residents have also reached out to high school students to help campaign for less Styrofoam and plastic silverware in the cafeteria, and more reusable, washable items."The concern for the high school is cost," said Ruskin, saying it’s the same way for small businesses.Rethink Plastic reached out to large retailers about potentially switching away from plastic bags.Home Depot representatives said their policy comes from corporate, however, they consistently ask customers if they need a bag rather than if they want a bag, according to the presentation.Stop & Shop representatives said they recycle plastic bags to be made into composite decking, and, in addition, they sell reusable bags.Target also recycles plastic into composite decking. They have started a reusable bag program in communities that have bans.However, according to the presentation, the Watertown Target is one of the highest volume stores in the country, especially during back-to-school season. Target said it would be very inconvenient to not have access to extra large bags since so many customers buy bedding or other large items, and so many customers travel to and from Target by bus.Rethink Plastic also contacted three food markets that are part of Belmont-Watertown Local First, according to the presentation.All three owners were in agreement with banning single-use plastic bags, and they said it would save them the expense of buying bags, the presentation continued."We can do this," said Buck.One resident said she consistently asks Russo’s to stray from plastic, but she doesn’t want to continue to do it alone. A list was started that night of people willing to sign a letter to Russo’s asking for a switch."Stores will do what the customers are asking for," said Blaustein.Another suggestion that surfaced from the residents was to charge for plastic bags, such as they do in Washington D.C. or Ireland.Blaustein said she hoped the crowd would leave the meeting able to answer the questions, "How do we move this idea forward? Do we need to come back with more ideas?""We have to be brave and move forward," said Ruskin. "Every single plastic bag that has ever existed still exists."Other communities in addition to Somerville and Cambridge have started the banning process, such as Brookline, Newton and Wellesley."We’re going to be surrounded by bans on all sides," commented one resident.Hawaii has a state ban, while 11 cities in Texas including Austin and Dallas have a ban, according to the presentation.Countries such as Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the United Kingdom have passed legislation to reduce plastic bag use, the presentation continued."It’s really remarkable how clean these places are – the beaches, public walkways," Buck commented. "It would be really nice if Watertown was that clean."House Bill 3438 is an act to reduce plastic pollution, and it is currently progressing through the final weeks of the legislative session."The bill is still alive," said Rep. Jonathon Hecht who was among the attendees of Tuesday’s meeting.The Environmental Committee gave a favorable recommendation, he said. There are still a few days until the formal session, but roughly five months left of the session as a whole, he explained."There’s still time to advocate," Hecht encouraged the crowd.If the bill passes, stores over 4,500 square feet will be required to use marine biodegradable bags, he said.Councilor Aaron Dushku said he believes getting a plastic bag ban in Watertown won’t be a problem."It’s the details," he said. "Let’s aim high and see what kind of push back we get."